Nine years ago, Jeffrey Reed had a vision that moved him to give up a successful law practice and lead a small group of passionate volunteers to form the Bowling Green Chamber Orchestra.

After only eight years in existence, the orchestra has become the centerpiece of Bowling Green arts community. The Bowling Green Chamber Orchestra gave its first concert on Sept. 10, 2000, and has grown under Reed’s leadership to include an annual

free Fourth of July concert that draws 15,000 people. He has spent countless hours creating musical opportunities through the orchestra, Chamber Singers, the Chamber Players, Youth Orchestras and the String Academy. Reed is both music director and conductor for the orchestra, and works on a strictly volunteer basis. He and his wife Sherry, are both major monetary contributors and have pledged a significant gift for the endowment as well.

It has been estimated that the economic impact of the Bowling Green Chamber Orchestra locally is in excess of $2 million. This is in part because of the variety of musical programming that Reed seeks to present, which reaches a wide audience. In addition to the VIP Series, the Retro Series involves local musicians in performance of popular music of all kinds. Also, for the past three years the orchestra has presented a variety of children’s concerts.

Looking to the future, Reed in 2001 started a youth orchestra which has grown into three orchestras and gives 50 young local

musicians the opportunity to perform. In 2003, Reed recognized the need for the Bowling Green Chamber Orchestra to establish a string academy where now about 120 students receive private lessons weekly from professional musicians.